Riverside
Police Department
Press Release

For Immediate Release

Date

July 12, 2001

Contact

Lt. Darryl Hurt

Phone

(909) 351-6050

Fax

(909) 351-6051

Suicidal Subject Arrested

Riverside, Ca- On
Thursday, 07-22-2001, at approximately 3:25 P.M., Riverside Police Officers
responded to the an apartment complex at 4333 Brockton in reference to a 911
hang-up call to the police department. A female was heard screaming in the phone
and could not respond to the call takerís questions.

When the first officers arrived, the
female and her baby had escaped the apartment and contacted the officers. She
told the officers that her ex-boyfriend, who did not live with her, broke into
her apartment and started arguing and hitting her. As she ran out of the
apartment, he told her that "he did not want to live, and if the police
came he was going to kill himself or make police do it."

METRO/SWAT officers were in the area
and responded to handle the situation. As they were negotiating and deploying,
the suspect set fire to the apartment. The METRO officers broke windows and
breached the front door to extinguish the flames before they spread throughout
the complex. They were successful in extinguishing the flames and eventually
convinced the suspect to surrender outside of the apartment, approximately two
hours after the incident started.

Robert Zurita of Rubidoux, 23 years,
was taken into custody without further incident. The Riverside Fire Department
checked the apartment and complex and verified that the complex was safe from
fire. Robert had cut his forehead on a fan while being taken into custody and
was taken to the Riverside Community Hospital for a medical clearance and then
ETS for 72 hour mental evaluation. If found to be mentally competent, he will be
booked at Riverside County Jail for the Arson, Domestic Violence Battery, and
Burglary. File number P3 01193215.